Boy Meets Girl
by Ghost Fox
Summary: M/S. On a visit to Edo, a teenage Megumi escapes her guards and winds up in a hood-infested slum. Who will bail her out?


A/N: this is my first posting on Fanfiction.net. Read and review and let me know if I belong here! ~.^   


"Boy Meets Girl"   
~~~~~~~~~~   
_Just a few quick notes: this takes place when Sano & Megumi are children._   
_Megumi is a teen (13 or 14), to be exact, while Sano is about 11 or 12._   
_They are in Edo, the capital of the shogonate empire. Also, keep in mind_   
_that women in Japan during the 19th century (actually, sometimes even_   
_today) were expected to be demure and obedient._

Sansosuke trotted alongside his boss and idol, Sagara Souzo, as they moved through the dusty streets of Edo. Sagara ocassionally glanced down and smiled at him paternally, and Sano could only grin back. He had been personally invited to accompany his boss on a special trip to the captial city. Sano didn't understand the purpose of the trip, only that it was very important to Sagara. He tightened his arms around the soft bundle he held to his chest. The contents of the package were a mystery to all but Sagara, however, Sano had a way of learning his boss's secrets sooner or later.   
Sagara came to a halt outside a small but elegant two-story home. Absently, he brushed a lock of raven hair from his eyes with the back of his hand. The hair fell back to hide one sharp blue eye and Sano watched as the other gazed up at a particular window in the second story of the home.   
"Sanosuke, " Sagara began.   
Sano snapped to attention. "Yes, sir?"   
"Please hand me the package." Sagara finished, extending one hand to Sanosuke.   
Sano was quick to comply, but not without asking a question or two as he did so. "Boss, whay is this place? And why is it so important to you?"   
A wistful smile touched Sagara's lips. "It's a place that's very special to me, with a person who is very dear to me living inside."   
Before Sano could ask who that person was, Sagara had knelt before him and placed his free hand on Sano's small shoulder. "Boss, what-"   
"Sanosuke." Sagara's blue eyes burned into Sanosuke's chocolate ones. His tone and expression were utterly serious. "You must swear to me that you will _never_ speak of this place to anyone. None of my men know of it. I brought you because I trust you. If anything should happen to me..." his eyes became light and sad, as thought he knew something he would not speak of , but his voice remained firm "... I don't want my misfortune to befall those here. Now, swear."   
Upon Sagara's drawn sword, Sanosuke swore.   
"Thank you. I know you'll keep your word." Sagara smiled and rose to his full and rather imposing height. He ruffled Sano's hair with his hand. "While I'm here, why don't you explore the city? Who knows, you might meet a pretty girl." he teased.   
"Feh, girls." Sano spat. "Who needs 'em."   
Sagara only smiled more broadly and turned to enter the house. "Have fun! I'll find you later." The door the home slid open. Sano wasn't able to see who was concealed within, but his boss gave a low bow before entering. The door slid shut with a woosh! behind him, and Sano was left alone in the street.   
Sanosuke wasn't alone in a literal sense; there where dozens of people bustling about, attending to their daily business. He watched the people milling about the various stalls boredly. _There's got to be something more exciting than this to do all day. Who know how long the boss is gonna be in there._ He noticed the crowd was parting somewhat in the middle, as of to make way for something or someone, and Sano rushed forward, darting around peasants, to find out what it was.   
A pair of samurai strode confidently though the crowd, dainty wives in tow. Their twin swords dangled at their waists while they moved, ever watchful but relaxed; with their wives along, they seemed to be on a shopping trip, just like everyone else.   
Sano had often imagined Sagara as a samurai, but knew that his boss did not have the love of combat required of a samurai warrior. His sense of honour was strong, though, and Sano felt that perhaps one day he would be the first of a new breed of samurai: the kind, gentle type who fight in the name of peace.   
Sanosuke continued to watch the two samurai as they conversed jovially while their wives shopped at the various stalls in the market. Their hakamas were made of the finest cloth, coloured a deep green for the robe and a dark shade pf grey for the pants. He decided to try to get closer to have a look at the emblems embroidered on the front of their jackets to see which familial house these samurai belonged to. He went to a produce stall near the silk spinner's cart the samurai entourage were currently at. He pretended to look over the various fruits and vegetables lined up in neat little rows on the stall's front. With one hand, he fingered the coins in his pocket; Sagara had left him with some money to buy himself something to eat. _If the shopkeeper get mad or somethin', I'll just buy some stuff to shut him up._ Sano continued to discreetly eye the samurai, hoping one of them would turn enough that he could see their emblems. There was a bit of commotion within the samurai group, and he craned his neck to get a better view.   
"Please, Goro! Let me go to the apothecary's stall!" A well-dressed girl with pale skin and waist-length hair balck as pitch was pleading to the taller of the two samurai. Judging from her attire, an elegant lavander kimono with peony flowers blowing across the bottom and down the wide sleeves, and her bearing, she was a noblewoman. Sano hadn't seen her the first time because she had been concealed between the two samurai as they walked, flanking her on both sides protectively.   
"Could those guys be her bodyguards?" Sano wondered aloud. He was even more intrigued. He wanted to discover more about this noisy and imprudent noblegirl who would dare make such a fuss in public.   
The tall samurai named Goro gently removed her imploring hand from his sleeve. "Lady," he began respectfully, though Sano didn't think the girl was much older than himself and thus not worthy of kowtowing from a high-ranking samurai, "why do you wish to vist the apothecary?" From his tone, Sano guessed that he had been down this road with the girl before. "You have your father, one of the best doctors in Japan."   
The raven-haired girl didn't give up. "I want to see the different medicines. Maybe he has something my father doesn't and could possibley use---"   
Goro interrupted sternly. "Lady, you don't need to concern yourself with such matters. It is beneath your station. What's more, your behavior now is quite unlbecoming of a lady of your station. Your father and mother would be greatly disappointed if they heard of this scene."   
Bowing her head, the girl conceeded the fight to Goro. The samurai wives tittered softly behind thier wide kimoni sleeves and resumed shopping. They both exclaimed over a pretty pattern of silk and beckoned their husbands to look. Sano watched as the samurai walked to the stall and bent their heads over their wives' shoulders to look. He saw the raven-haired girl take complete advantage of this lack of attention. She ducked into the crowd and disappeared. More than curious about this crafty girl's destination, Sano decided to follow her.   
The girl wove in and out of the throngs of people, long hair flying behind her. Sanosuke had a difficult time keeping up with her. A few times he lost her and only found her again with exteme difficulty. She had finally stopped moving and was standing next to a stall selling ramen. He watched as she ordered a bowl of the steaming noodles and began to eat. The vendor, a balding man looking to be in his mid-forties and having more than a few misssing teeth, proffered his hand for payment.   
"What is it?" the girl asked, puzzled. "What do you want?"   
"I nee' m'ney fo' you' food." he slurred.   
The girl shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't understand a word you're saying."   
"You nee' t'pay fo' dat!" The man seem exasperated.   
The confused expression never left the girl's face. "Could you say that again? Slowly?"   
From his position beside some horses, Sano listened to the exchange. "What is with this girl? Can she really be that stupid? Everyone knows you gotta pay for stuff. She gonna really piss that guy off if she doesn't pay soon."   
The girl repeated her request for the vendor to speak slowly and clearly. The vendor took a few deep breaths, then reached over and grabbed the front of the girl's kimono, dragging her off her feet and partway over the counter of the stall. The girl shrieked in surprise. "Let go of me!"   
The vendor narrowed his eyes and clenched is teeth. "Pay...me."   
"Pay you?" The girl began to laugh, half-condenscending, half-relieved. "Is that all? Why didn't you say so?"   
"Whore!" The vendor tossed her to the dirt street.   
Standing, the girl dusted herself off. Her once lovely kimono was now smeared with brown dirt and other refuse. She gazed at the man levelly. "There's no need for name calling. I'll pay you and we'll forget this. Goro..." she began, turning. "Pay this man for--" she broke off. Looking around her, the girl suddenly remembered that she was alone. "Well, I think I have some money..." she murmured, dipping her hand into her obi and then into her wide sleeves. She found nothing.   
Seeing the alarmed expression on the girl's face, Sano realized she could not pay for her meal. _Yeah...women, especially her kind, aren't allowed to carry money. Betcha those samurai bodyguards of hers have it. Well, that's what she get for runnin' off and then treatin' people bad on top of it._ He watched as the girl spun from left to right and back, desperately searching the crowd for the samurai, any familiar face, anyone to bail her out. Sano crossed his arms. "Well, it ain't gonna be me."   
The vendor grabbed the girl's sleeve. "Go' money?"   
She smiled politely. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any right now. If you would be so kind as to allow me to find my companions, I will---"   
"THIEF!!!" The man roared.   
The entire crowd ceased their activity and turned to look at the girl. A quiet murmering erupted throughout.   
"No!" she cried. "I am not! I...I..."   
A set of coins dropped onto the wooden countertop with a faint ring. "Here. For the noodles."   
The girl looked up, directly into Sanosuke's face. Sano averted his eyes. "Let's go." he said, taking the girl by the wrist and pratically dragging her away from the stand. They moved through the crowd quickly, and only faintly heard the vendor's garbled cries of "Thi' not 'nugh!"   
When they came to a realatively deserted area of mostly livestock sales, Sano stopped them. Releasing her wrist, he looked, really _looked_ at her. She was gorgeous, he realized. Her long black hair shone more brightly than a raven's wing. Her eyes were deep black coals with faint flecks of brown embedded within. Her skin was ivory white, and, he imagined, soft to the touch. He felt his cheeks warm and looked away, huffing. "You owe me, girl."   
"Who are you calling 'girl?'" the girl said as she finished straightening her kimono. "You have no right to speak to me like that, you street hood!"   
"Hey! I just saved your life! Show some thanks or something!" Sanosuke cried, offended.   
She crossed her arms. "I could have taken care of myself. I did not ask for your help, so I owe you nothing."   
Sanosuke was astonised at her rudeness. "Hah! You looked so pitiful out there, I just had to do something. My boss wouldn'a forgivin' me if I hadn't. Besided, what could you have done? You're just a girl."   
Raising one finger to him, she smiled slyly. "I'll show you." With that, she reached up and proceeded to press her finger against the pressure point on the back of Sano's neck.   
"OOOOOWWWWWW!!!" Sano wailed. He tried to reach around to pull her off, but she kicked him in the back of the knee, dropping him to the ground.   
The girl ran away, laughing. "That's what a mere girl can do, boy!"   
Sano stood and rubbed the back of his neck. He was more offended than sore, but she had proven her point. _Women are so danm crafty! Especially that one! _ He wanted to find her so he could prove that she hadn't beaten him. "You're on, fox." he murmured.   
The girl ran until she found herself to be in rather questionable surroundings. There were hardly any shoppers here and few vendors. There were dark doorways and shady, unkept men in plenty, though. She looked around her, wondering how, in her simple quest to visit the apothecary, she had gotten so lost. "What a blasted fool I am! I have no idea where I am and no idea how to find Goro and the others. Father always praised me as being his most intelligent child and here I am, lost, and all because of my own foolishness. What a disgrace!" She looked around, and, finding a small bench, sat and tried to think of a way to get back, only faintly aware of the danger lurking around her.   
"Hey."   
She looked up. A tall, thin man was staring down at her through beady eyes. His hair was thin and oily and pulled into a topknot, and, as the girl's eyes slid down his form to his open shirt and bare arms, she disovered he was covered from the collar-down in tattoos. Her eyes widened unconciously, and the man grinned. He reached one hand out, and she saw the tip of his small finger was missing. Slapping his hand away, she rose. "Leave me alone." she said fiercely.   
Chuckling, the man asked "What's a pretty, high-born lady like you doing with rabble like us?"   
She backed a few steps away. "That's not your business. Leave me alone. If you do anything to me, there will be reprisals."   
"From whom? Against whom? Here," he chucked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the entire slum. "guys like me don't really exist. We don't have names or nothing. We just _are._ So, all I have to do is kill you and dump you somewhere no one can find you. Even if they did, as far as me and the rest of us go, it never happened."   
"The rest of you?" she repeated.   
He stepped aside. Two more men were sitting on the ground behind him, leaning against the sagging walls of the buildings there. They were similarly covered in tattoos, and seemed to be sleeping, but their eyes could be seen flitting surreptitiously about beneath half-shut lids. They were about twice as muscular as the first man.   
One of them spoke lazliy, without fully opening his eyes. "That looks like some nice silk you got. Maybe we could make something off it."   
The other one chimed in with his opinion. "I was thinking about selling her hair myself."   
"Then she'd be useless as a whore." the tall one snapped. "I plan to sell her until she's too diseased to be of any more use. Then we'll just dump her somewhere to beg."   
"You can't do any of that!" the girl cried. She bolted, but her kimono was not meant for running, and it wasn't long before the three men had caught up with her.   
A muscle-type slapped her. "You can't just run off like that. You're ours, now."   
"I am not!" She tried to break away but the man's grip was solid.   
He tightened his hand around her arm. Leaning in so close she could smell the rot on his breath, he said "You should never have come here, girl. You should have been a good girl and done what your men told you. Now, you have to pay the price for tresspassing."   
"She doesn't hafta pay for anything!"   
Sanosuke watched as the girl's head jerked around, her jaw dropping in surprise. "What are you _doing_?"   
"Savin' your ass." Sano stated calmly. He winked at her. "Fox."   
She huffed in indignation. "You are _so _crude!"   
The man flung the girl to the ground behind him. He looked at Sanosuke, sizing the boy up, then laughed. It was a lound, cruel laugh, and Sano felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. "Are you planning on rescuing this girl or something?"   
"Of course I'm gonna." Sano said flatly, standing his ground.   
"Okay. Well," he looked back at the girl, who was now being restrained by the other two men. "you should tell your boyfriend any last words now, because he's not gonna be around in a few more minutes."   
"He's NOT my boyfriend!" she cried. "He's just some street punk with a foul-mouth!"   
One of the men holding her chucked her in the side of the head. "Fiesty, ain't she?"   
Sanosuke gritted his teeth. He hated to see anyone, especially girls, treated that way. "Keep yer hands offa her!"   
"Make us." the tall man replied.   
Sanosuke dropped into his most imposing battle stance, which, he realized, probably wasn't much yet, but he was determined to see this through. He'd only had a bit of formal martial arts training, the rest of his fighting style was mostly what he'd invented himself. As he watched the man approach him, he admitted he felt afraid. His chocolate eyes met the ebony ones of the girl. She was terrified. Her face as a whole seemed calm, even aloof, but her eyes gave her away. She was depending on Sano to win, to save her life and his. He gritted his teeth in determination. _I'm scared, but she's even more scared. I'm not gonna let her down. I'm not gonna lose! _He threw the first punch.   
The tall man easily caught it in his tattooed fist. He squeezed Sano's hand. "You expect to win with strength like this?"   
Sano listened to his bones popping. He resisted the urge to scream his pain for the whole city to hear. _I've gotta do something! I'm better than this! Plus, she's countin' on me!_ He took one of his long legs and swept it around behind the man's knee. Crying out in surprise, the man fell, releasing Sano's hand. Sano knew that in a contest of brute strength, he would lose. But as far as speed and finesse were concerned, he actually had a chance. He quickly spun and dropped to the ground above the man, aiming his elbow for the back of his neck. It connected with a crack. The man groaned sharply and tried to rise, but Sano made a quick chop with the side of his hand across the back of his head and the man fell limp.   
"Ooo....I'm impressed." the man to the girl's left said. "The runt can fight a bit. We'll see if he can handle both of us at once. If you win, boy, the girl is yours to do what you want. If you lose....we'll, for her sake, at least, you'd better not." With that, he proceeded to press a sloppy kiss onto the girl's cheek. She squirmed and tried to get away, but the other man held her fast.   
"Now I'm REALLY pissed!" Sano cried. "Let her GO!" He dashed recklessly toward the two men. He watched as they roughly pushed her to the ground, further increasing the rage he felt inside. "I'll beat yer fuckin' heads in!"   
The girl could only watch speechlessly as Sano leapt at them like a cat, throwing punches and kicks with lighting speed. He was taking more than he gave, however, and the girl began to grow increasingly worried. "He may be incredibly crude..." she murmured, "...foul-mouthed and stupid, but he has a noble heart. And...he is somewhat handsome." This she admitted with a great deal of blushing on her part. He was still young, his body still developing, but she could see that in a few more years he would grow up to be a very attractive young man.   
There was a lull in the fighting. Sano held his ground, but not without difficulty. He knew he'd be feeling these injuries tomorrow. _If I even live to tomorrow..._he thought wistfully. He figured he had two black eyes, a broken rib or two, a cracked nose, and maybe a broken toe. The opposition, he noticed, wasn't in any better shape. They had an assortment of cuts, bloody noses, and dangling, broken limbs. Sano wiped the blood from his lipm with the back of his hand and viewed his handiwork with a measure of satisfaction. _The fight's not over yet, though. Better get 'em when they're not expectin' it. _He readied himself, then charged.   
As Sano charged, the girl saw a group of men appear behind him, swords drawn. They wore matching uniforms and each wore a red bandanna in his hair. Their leader appeared to be a tall man with a lock of black hair covering one eye. He threw his arm back, indicated that his men should wait. She was about to cry out in warning to the boy when she noticed that he was also wearing one of the red bandannas. Were they friends?   
The two thugs prepared to charge Sano in this, the final stage of their battle. They stopped when they noticed a gang of sword-wielding men appear behind the running boy. Their leader moved his sword menacingly in their direction and nodded, a gleam of challenge in his eyes.   
"Sekihoutai..." one of the men gasped.   
Their hearts pumping with fear, the thugs decided they'd rather cut their losses than take on armed soldiers. They turned and ran as quickly as they could, abandoning their companion, still unconcious on the ground.   
As soon as the thugs had turned tail and were no longer a threat to Sano, Sagara quickly motioned for his men to disperse. He himself headed down a narrow alleyway, laughing silently at the predicament Sano had gotten himself into. _Fighting for a girl...I could have sworn Sanosuke promised he'd never let himself be bothered with women. Well, I'm glad he's finally found someone to protect...maybe, to even love. I'm just glad I found him in time. _If he hadn't stumbled across the street vendor complaining to the police about being robbed by a chicken-haired boy and a artisocratic-looking girl, he would never have known Sano was in trouble. He'd then tracked his location though a plethora of witnesses. He'd decided to help, albiet indirectly, only after he'd seen Sano in a fight he wasn't likely to win. Now, it was time to disappear as if he'd never been there.   
Sanosuke watched the thugs run away, disappearing amidst the run-down houses and stalls lining the street. He dusted his hands off, satisfied that he'd taught them never to underestimate a boy like him. He turned back to the girl. She was sitting up on the dusty street, staring at him with the most amazed expression on her face. He walked to her a profferred his hand. "Are you all right?"   
Nodding, she took his hand and he helped her to her feet. "I'm fine. But you...you're hurt," she said, indicating his blackening eyes, bloody nose, and swollen lips. "and I don't think you have anyone to take care of you. Am I right?"   
"I can take care of this." he replied, waving her off with his hand. "I've had worse." He bent to pick up a red ribbon which had fallen from the girl's obi and was almost overwhelmed by a sharp pain in his side. He wrapped his arm around the offending area and collapsed to his knees, all without making a sound. _Its my rib...I guess I did break it._   
"Stay still!" the girl ordered as she dropped down beside him. "Let me help you."   
Sano looked up at her, surprised at the passion in her voice. "Why do you want to help me? You don't owe me nothin'."   
"You saved me. I think I owe you at least this much. Now, stop arguing with me!" She lowered her voice, mutttering. "This boy is so stubborn!" With her small, white hands, she removed part of her obi and ripped off a portion of the stiff, thick, cloth. After absently retucking her obi she removed his jacket and proceeded to inspect his chest and sides, blushing as she did so.   
Noticing the flush in her cheeks, Sano couldn't help but laugh a little. He regretted it instantly, feeling anew the sharp stabs of pain in his side.   
Her head snapped up and her blazing eyes fixed on his. "I thought I said to keep still! And why are you laughing?"   
"You're blushing." he said frankly. "I guess I do have a nice body and all, enough even to get a blush from an unlady-like fox."   
"Who are you calling a fox? And stop complimenting yourself." she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "What you have in looks you lack in brains." She quickly tore the piece of obi into long strips and began wrapping them tightly about Sano's waist.   
"Hey! That hurts!" he whined. "You're pulling them too tight!"   
"Do you want the bone to stay in place?" she countered. "Do you want to heal?"   
Sano quieted down, watching as she finished up. He looked at her face, taking in her expression as she worked over him. She seemed very calm and focused, as if she knew exactly what she was doing. Her eyes had been lit with an inner fire, prompting Sano to give into his curiousity and find out more about this strange girl. "Hey," he began, "where are you from?"   
"Aizu." she said "I'm in Edo with my family. We came here because my father is a doctor, one of the best in Japan. The shogun calls on his services sometimes."   
"That's why you're so good at this..." Sano remarked.   
"Wait." The girl picked up his left wrist. It had a jagged cut running along the inside. "Let me bandage this." She picked up the red ribbon he'd originally intended to get for her, and proceeded to wrap it around the injured wrist. She tied it off into a delicate knot. "There." She finished by dabbing at his bloody lip and nose with the sleeve of her kimono.   
"Oi, stop." Sano said softly. "You're getting your kimono all bloody."   
She smiled softly. "Its okay. I can get a new one."   
Their faces were now only a few inches apart, she having moved closer to better see the cuts and scratches on his face. Their eyes met, and remained fixated. She felt like she was drowning in his. He felt like he was being enveloped by hers.   
A group of loud voiced broke their rapture. It was Goro and the other samurai, along with their wives, searching for the girl. She glanced quickly over her shoulder in the direction of their calling voices, then turned back to the boy before her. Quickly, impulsively, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Good-bye." She rose quickly to her feet and disappeared in the direction of the voices.   
Sanosuke watched her go. He touched his cheek where she had kissed him, feeling as if some spell had been cast over him. "Who was that girl?" he said aloud. "I didn't even ask her name." He looked at his wrist where she had wrapped the red slik ribbon. He decided he'd keep that ribbon forever, as a momento of their brief encounter.   
The girl, meanwhile, had caught up to her entourage. Goro was busy scolding her. "Megumi-sama." he began, steel in his voice. She knew he was angry because he hardly ever used her first name. "I told you not to visit the apothecary. You never even made it there, because I asked him. We searched all over for you and feared the worst had happened. I am relieved to see you uninjured, but look at your clothes!" he said, indicating her torn obi, bloody sleeve, and the dust smeared all over. "How did you do this? Your parents will be quite upset. We are returning home." He and the other samurai took their places at her side, their wives trailing descreetly behind, and they began the walk to their upscale inn, reserved for guests of the shogonate.   
Megumi looked back over her shoulder wistfully, wondering if she would ever meet that stupid but incredibly noble boy again, and hoping with all her heart that someday, she would. 

~El fin.~ 

What did everyone think?   
I don't feel this was as good as I hoped it would be.   
I wanted to invent a story where Megumi & Sano met as   
children without knowing it. I tried to keep the characterizations   
basically the same & I hope I succeeded. If enough people like   
it, I may write a sequel where they realize (as adults) that they   
met before.   
I also tried to explain why Sano wears that one red bandage/ribbon   
on his wrist.   
And one more note: The Sekihoutai were the guys Sano worked   
with as a child. They were later murdered by the new Meiji government. 

Thanks for reading!   
Reviews are much appreciated!   



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